Tiamat
The Tiamat Starzone is located in the Iserlohn Corridor, and is notable primarily for being the location of the enormous Iserlohn Fortress. Because of its strategic importance, the Tiamat Starzone saw many of the fiercest battles in the FPA-Imperial War. Notable Battles The Fourth Battle of Tiamat The Free Planets Alliance's fourth attempt to capture the Galactic Empire's Iserlohn Fortress began with several fleets congregating in the Tiamat Starzone. Once there, a single fleet was dispatched directly toward Iserlohn to scout the area and test the fortresses defenses. This fleet was intercepted by Reinhard von Lohengramm's expeditionary fleet, and lured into the upper atmosphere of the gas giant, Legnica. There, Reinhard managed to outwit the FPA fleet's admiral, and obliterate the the FPA fleet. firing on the enemy.]] Undaunted by their devastating defeat at Legnica, the Free Planets Alliance chose to continue with their plans to assault Iserlohn Fortress. The Imperial fleets stationed at Iserlohn, under the command of Gregor von Muckenberger, sallied forth to meet the FPA fleet head on: Reinhard von Lohengramm's fleet was positioned at the left wing of the formation. Determined to be rid of the "Admiral of the Skirts" once and for all, Muckenburger ordered Reinhard's fleet to advance on the FPA fleets head-on as a diversionary measure: the rest of the Imperial Fleet would maintain is position, meaing Reinhard's smaller fleet would be annihilated by the vastly more numerous FPA fleets. Complying with his orders, Reinhard advanced his fleet toward the enemy formation alone. Rather than hopen fire on them once he was in range, however, Reinhard had his entire fleet turn 90 degrees to the right. Reinhard's fleet then slowly sailed in front of the FPA fleet, utterly exposed. Unable to comprehend an enemy intentially making itself so vulnerable, the FPA fleet commanders refused to attack Reinhard's forces, believing his maneuver to be some sort of elaborate trick. Their inaction allowed Reinhard to reposition his forces along the left flank of the FPA fleet. By the time they realized their error, the main Imperial Fleet had entered combat range, forcing the FPA invasion force to deal with the main Imperial force, ignoring Reinhard's fleet. The Imperial fleet was roughly equal in size to the Free Planets Alliance fleet, turning the battle into a violent brawl. Realizing he had been outsmarted by Reinhard, Muckenburger refused to ask Reinhard's fleet to attack: Muckenburger believed that Reinhard was similarly petty, and would not move to aid the besieged Imperial forces unless ordered to do so. Reinhard, however, realized that the gratitude of the thousands of soldiers whose lives he could save by attacking the FPA flank far outweighed the ire he would earn from embarassing Muckenburger. He ordered his fleet to attack, and in moments the FPA Fleet had been thoroughly routed. At this point, the FPA forces realized they had no choice but to retreat. They determined to launch a diversionary attack directly against Iserlohn Fortress, to draw off the bulk of the Imperial fleet and buy enough time for them to escape. Commodore Yang Wenli volunteered to lead the diversionary attack: he took a single destroyer with a skeleton crew along with 4 drone ships straight for Iserlohn. Using sensor decoys, Yang Wenli was able to fool the Imperial Fleet into thinking he was leading a fleet of several thousand warships toward the undefended fortress. Muckenberger immediately ordered his fleets to turn around and head back to defend Iserlohn. Fortunately, Reinhard von Lohengramm immediately realized the FPA fleet was a decoy operation, and managed to reveal this fact to Muckenburger. This prompted Muckenburger to resume the attack on the FPA forces, preventing them from retreating. parked under the Brunhild.]] Determined to save the lives of his fellow soldiers, Yang Wenli flew his small destroyer straight into the heart of the Imperial Fleet. There, he assumed a position immediately beneath the Brunhild and did nothing. In an instant, he could fire the destroyers dorsal cannons and destroy the Brunhild: he had effectively taken Reinhard von Lohengramm hostage. Reinhard ordered his forces to disregard his own safety and open fire on Yang Wenli's ship, but they refused. Both the Imperial fleet and the FPA fleet refused to open fire on each other until they had passed. Once the FPA fleet was in a position to safely retreat, Yang Wenli's destroyer followed. Reinhard, determining that the battle was over, ordered his fleet to stand down, allowing Yang Wenli to escape the battlefield. After the Fourth Battle of Tiamat, Reinhard von Lohengramm was granted a special commendation, and firmly established a reputation for himself as a brilliant tactician. Furthermore, Reinhard went to lengths to learn the name of the destroyer captain who had managed to open up a path to safety for the retreating FPA forces, while at the same time Yang Wenli had sought out the name of the commander of the white ship. The rivalry between Yang Wenli and Reinhard von Lohengramm that began with this battle would shape and define the history of the galaxy in the years to come. The Fifth Battle of Tiamat On May 14, Space Year 796, the Rosen Ritter flew a damaged Imperial Cruiser to the fortress, pretending to be wounded Imperial forces. Walter von Schenkopp then demanded to see the fortress' commander immediately, claiming to have access to vital intelligence concerning an FPA invasion of the Iserlohn Corridor. Yang Wenli then drew out the Iserlohn Fleet away from the fortress, and advanced toward Iserlohn Fortress while the Imperial Fleet was too far away to maintain contact. The 13th Fleet then halted just outside the range of Iserlohn Fortress' main cannon, the Thor Hammer. The 13th Fleet than began manuevering back and forth. Iserlohn Fortress Commander admiral Thomas von Stockhausen was confused by the odd movements of Yang's fleet. The Rosen Ritter infiltrators, brought to the fortress command room, indicated that the strange movements were part of the Alliance's plan to sieze Iserlohn. The Rosen Ritter were then allowed close to Stockhausen: Walter von Schenkopp tackled the Imperial admiral and held him hostage. Within seconds, the Rosen Ritter infiltrators siezed complete control over Iserlohn's command center. Stockhausen surrendered, and the Rosen Ritter were able to lock down the fortress, and disable all of Iserlohn's weapon systems. Yang Wenli was able to bring the 13th Fleet inside Iserlohn Fortress unmolested; he then sent a message to the Imperial Fleet commander, admiral Hans Dietrich von Seeckt, informing him that he had occupied Iserlohh Fortress, and asked for Seeckt to surrender. Of course, though Yang Wenli had occupied the fortress with the 13th Fleet and the Rosen Ritter had siezed control of the command center, the Imperial forces stationed within were still active. Seeckt's staff officer, Paul von Oberstein, advised Seeckt to attack the fortress, correctly determining that Iserlohn was not yet under Yang Wenli's control. Seeckt, however, ignored Oberstein's advice, and kept the Imperial Fleet a safe distance away from Iserlohn to observe the situation. This gave Yang Wenli and the Rosen Ritter ample time to completely take over Iserlohn Fortress. Once the fortress was firmly in Yang Wenli's hands, the 13th Fleet exitted the fortress, baiting admiral Seeckt. Seeckt ordered the Imperial Fleet to attack, and Yang Wenli used the massive destructive power of the Thor Hammer to rout the Imperial Fleet, destroying more than 1000 imperial ships with a single shot. Yang Wenli then sent a message to Admiral Seeckt, requesting that he either surrendered or withdraw from battle. Admiral Seeckt responded, saying, "You do not understand a soldier's heart: our code will not allow us to endure living with dishonor. Dying to fulfill our honor, that is our code. For the glory of the Kaiser, all ships will charge to die in an honorable defeat." Seeckt then ordered the Imperial Fleet to advance; Yang Wenli then specifically targetted Seeckt's flagship, and destroyed it (along with several nearby Imperial ships) with the Thor Hammer. With Admiral Seeckt dead, the Imperial Fleet broke away and withdrew from the Tiamat Starzone, thus ending the Fifth Battle of Tiamat with victory for the Free Planets Alliance. Six times before, the FPA had attempted to take Iserlohn Fortress from the Empire, and six times before they had failed. Yang Wenli managed to take the fortress with the smallest fleet out of the seven total attacks, and managed to do so without a single allied casualty. For this, he became the greatest hero in the FPA, earning the nicknames "Miracle Yang" and "Yang the Magician." Category:Locations Category:Iserlohn Corridor